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Celibates
Celibates

Chapter IX

Cover illustration for Celibates
Context Illustration Reading 1/82 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
'You do not understand women.'
'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'
Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.
These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.
'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Celibates

Chapter IX

Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
'You do not understand women.'
Line 2
'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'
Line 3
Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.
Line 4
These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.
Line 5
'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Asked noun US /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.”

Different noun US /ˈdifferent/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.”

Has auxiliary verb US /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading “'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'”

Little noun US /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.”

Need noun US /need/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.”

Question noun US /ˈquestion/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'”

These determiner US /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading “These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.”

Understand noun US /understand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “'You do not understand women.'”

All words in this reading · 47

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

askednounUS /asked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

consolation

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

differentnounUS /ˈdifferent/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading 'You do not understand women.'

expected

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

give

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

Harold

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

intimate

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

intonation

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

inwardly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

littlenounUS /little/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.

lives

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

men

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

more

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.

neednounUS /need/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading 'You do not understand women.'

petulantly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.

Protestantism

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

questionnounUS /ˈquestion/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

religious

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

smiled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

From this reading Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

ThesedeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

understandnounUS /understand/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading 'You do not understand women.'

understanding

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

uspronounUS /ʌs/

the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

usual

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Harold asked a little more petulantly than usual.

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading 'But what has understanding women to do with a religious question?'

women

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'You do not understand women.'

Women's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Women's lives are so different from men, we need a more intimate consolation than Protestantism can give us.

words

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading These were the words and intonation she had expected, and she smiled inwardly.

YoupronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading 'You do not understand women.'